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AT&T to Buy DirecTV for $49B, Creating TV Behemoth

DirecTV (DTV), the No. 1 U.S. satellite TV operator, said on Sunday it has agreed to sell itself to AT&T (T) billion in the second mega-deal to shake-up the U.S. television landscape this year.

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The deal with Dallas,-based AT&T, which has some TV and broadband services, is the latest in a string of big takeovers the wireless operator has considered. Those include an abortive bid for T-Mobile USA in 2011, as well as a potential takeover of Vodafone Plc, which receded as a possibility after Comcast Corp surprised the industry this year with a $45 billion bid for Time Warner Cable Inc.

AT&T said it was offering $95 per DirecTV share in a combination of stock and cash, with the cash portion financed by cash, asset sales, financing already lined up and other "opportunistic debt market transactions."

The transaction has a total value of $67.1 billion, including DirecTV's net debt. (Reporting By Mike Stone)